Scotland weather: Thunderstorm warning issued for parts of Scotland, including Edinburgh and Glasgow

A yellow thunderstorm warning has been issued for large parts of Scotland, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, on Wednesday as temperatures soar across the country.

The warning is in place from 2pm today until 11.59pm, and all day on Thursday until 10pm.

The warning is in place from Wednesday afternoon and all day on Thursday | Met Office

The warning has been issued for parts of Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Highlands, Orkney and Shetland, Edinburgh and the Lothians and Strathclyde including Glasgow.

The Met Office said that while most places will remain dry, heavy showers and thunderstorms could develop in some areas on Wednesday afternoon and evening, with some places receiving 20-30 mm of rain in less than an hour.

It said the most intense thunderstorms could produce large hail and gusty winds.

While these are likely to ease in the evening, it said they may linger over Orkney into the night.

The Met Office said that heavy showers and thunderstorms may also develop in places on Thursday morning, with storms developing on Thursday afternoon and evening across portions of central and eastern Scotland in particular.

These will be “slow-moving” but could potentially see accumulations of 40-60 mm of rainfall in an hour in some places.

The Met Office said the showers could bring some risk of some surface water flooding, while hail and lightning will be additional hazards.

It said the weather could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures. In places where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there could be disruption train and bus services, with a slight chance that power cuts could affect some homes and businesses.

Tens of thousands of people had their power cut of last week during Storm Floris, which also caused severe disruption to trains, flights and roads.

Hot weather continues

The warnings comes as temperatures soar across Scotland on Wednesday, with highs of 29C in southern parts of the country.

Glasgow is set out hit 28C by 4pm on Wednesday while Edinburgh will reach highs of 26C. Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, could see temperatures of up to 30C.

England is experiencing its fourth heatwave of the summer as temperatures in some places are expected to climb to 34C on Wednesday.

An amber heat health alert remains in place for the West Midlands, East Midlands, South East, London, and East of England, while much of the rest of England is already under yellow alerts.

Marco Petagna, meteorologist at the Met Office, told the PA news agency: “Wednesday will be mostly dry with further very warm or hot sunshine, but we will see some showers, particularly in the South East during the afternoon and also a few affecting Scotland during the day, which could turn heavy and thundery.

“It will be another warm and hot day with maximum temperatures of 33C to 34C, highest in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

“On Thursday there will still be a few showers, particularly in the north, and it will not be quite as hot, but temperatures will still peak around 29C to 30C in East and south-east England.

“Friday looks mostly fine, with very hot sunshine in the south and South East, where temperatures could reach 31C, while Scotland will see highs in the low 20s.”